Even if you don’t exercise, protein is essential. And it's not just your muscles that need it. Every single cell in your body needs protein to do its job.
Protein is one of the three main nutrients your body needs (along with fat and carbohydrates). But unlike carbs and fats, protein is made of building blocks called amino acids. There are 20 amino acids your body needs, and 9 of them must come from food — you can’t make them on your own.
Your body uses these amino acids to build, repair, and manage everything inside you†. That includes:
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Muscle tissue
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Bones
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Skin and hair
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Blood cells
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Hormones
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Enzymes (which help you digest food and make energy†)
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Immune cells (which help fight off sickness†)
So when you don’t get enough protein, it’s like trying to repair a house without any bricks or wood — your body doesn’t have the materials it needs to stay strong and fix what’s broken.
How Protein Works Inside the Body
Cell Repair & Growth: Every day, your cells are breaking down and being rebuilt — especially in your muscles, skin, gut, and immune system†. Protein gives your body the amino acids it needs to replace old cells, heal damage†, and grow new tissue†. Even tiny injuries from walking, lifting groceries, or just normal wear and tear on your joints require protein to heal†.
Hormone Production: Many of your body’s hormones — like insulin, growth hormone, and thyroid hormones — are made from protein. These hormones help control your blood sugar†, metabolism†, mood†, and energy†. Without enough protein, your hormone balance can get thrown off, which can lead to fatigue†, mood swings†, or trouble losing weight†.
Immune Defense: Your immune system needs protein to make antibodies, which fight off viruses and bacteria†. If you’re getting sick often, or taking longer to recover†, a lack of protein might be one reason why.
Enzyme Function: Your body uses thousands of enzymes to carry out chemical reactions — like breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and creating energy from what you eat†. Most enzymes are made from protein. Without enough, your digestion and metabolism slow down†.
What Happens If You Don’t Get Enough Protein?
Protein deficiency isn’t just something that happens in extreme starvation. Even mildly low protein intake — which is very common in the modern diet — can cause real issues over time†.
Here’s what you might notice:
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You feel tired, even after sleeping
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You lose muscle, especially with age
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Your skin and hair look dull or weak
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You get sick more often
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Your cuts or bruises take longer to heal
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You’re constantly hungry or have strong cravings
This is your body’s way of telling you that you need more.
How Much Protein Do You Need?
In the ViCera Diet, we recommend 1 to 1.4 grams of protein per pound of desired body weight every day. That should give you what you need to rebuild the muscle you tear during your workout.
So if your goal is 150 pounds, aim for 150–210 grams of protein per day.
That might sound like a ton, but your body is constantly using it up. After a workout, your body goes immediately to your protein stores to start repairing all that muscle damage. During that time, you don’t want to deny it anything it needs. Imagine going your max on a workout, only for your body to miss out on all those gains because there wasn’t enough protein stored up to properly repair the muscle. If you skimp on protein, your body’s doing demo with no construction plan or materials afterwards.
If you’re not at your protein goal yet, try to include more protein with each meal and snack.
And if you’ve already tried to add more protein but can’t bring yourself to eat the equivalent of three steaks a day, we get it. That’s where high quality protein powder can be a great alternative.
With protein powder, you can add a creamy scoop of vanilla to your morning coffee, refresh post-workout with a frozen chocolate milkshake, or add some unflavored protein to any soup or sauce you’re making for dinner.
Protein = Health Maintenance
Protein isn’t just for getting stronger or looking lean. It’s for:
✅ Healing your body†
✅ Fighting off illness†
✅ Keeping your metabolism running†
✅ Making hormones and enzymes†
✅ Staying full and energized†
✅ Aging well and staying independent later in life†
If you want to feel better†, stay strong†, and give your body what it needs to function at its best† — start by eating more protein.
You don’t need to be perfect. Just take small steps — more eggs, more meat, more protein shakes. Whatever works for your life.
You’ve got one body. Fuel it well.
